I am a big Jenny Milchman fan. Not only are her books fantastic, but she’s one of my favorite author people. She’s fun, interactive, and appreciates us book bloggers. Last year, I missed her Cover of Snow (review here) tour because I had a pesky class the night of her event, but this year I was able to make it for her Ruin Falls tour (review here). I reached out to her on Twitter to express my excitement thinking that she would maybe remember who I was when I showed up at the signing and that I could snag a picture. I never would have guessed what actually happened.
First, I asked her if she’d like to meet for coffee. I figured it was a long shot, but she was here for two days so I kept my fingers crossed. She said yes, and then coffee turned into potential lunch plans. Then, lunch turned into an incredible 8 hour day in which I rode shotgun with Jenny as we bounced around area Barnes & Noble stores so that she could sign her stock. Honestly, never really thought about how bookstores got their signed stock; I guess I figured publishers mailed copies out. Turns out, authors do the legwork themselves and are actually able to walk in to stores and say, “Hey, I’m an author and I’m here to sign my stock.” Who knew? Well, Jenny knew and so did the woman reshelving the signed copies, who ended up buying one of the copies.
So, after we bounced around for a few hours chatting about books, blogging, and life in general, we headed to Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch. Here, Jenny was presenting with fellow author Peg Brantley on the differences between traditional and self-published books (Jenny’s with Ballantine/Random House and Peg owns her own small press). Both gave great presentations with unique perspectives, answering questions I didn’t even know I had. I had no idea that Jenny’s journey to publication was wrought with so many challenges and am glad she persevered. I was fortunate enough to hear Peg read from her book, The Sacrifice. I swear, she should narrate audiobooks because she has a smooth an expressive voice that I could listen to for hours.
After the event, Jenny chatted with some fans that traveled from out of town to see her. They were incredibly nice and let me offer them some book recommendations, which is one of my favorite things to do. Then Jenny and I headed out to find some dinner. Unfortunately, Highlands Ranch isn’t exactly a hopping town after 9 pm, so after much driving around we ended up at a restaurant near the University of Denver, where we continued chatting before heading home. All in all, it was, dare I say, a magical day and one I hope to repeat again in the future.
Thanks, Jenny, for the awesome day!